Court: Judge must allow transgender name changes

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion saying that Columbia County Superior Court Judge J. David Roper abused his discretion when he denied the name change petitions.

LGBT rights group Lambda Legal last year filed appeals on behalf of Rowan Elizabeth Feldhaus, whose birth name was Rebeccah Elizabeth Feldhaus, and Andrew Norman Baumert, whose given name was Delphine Renee Baumert.

Roper had denied the name changes, saying they could confuse and mislead people who interact with the young men and could be considered a type of fraud.

The appeals court directed Roper to enter an order changing the names.